Over the last couple blogs, I have looked at pediatric facilities to consider design choices that enhance outcomes for young patients. Pediatric patient rooms and units likewise warrant unique design direction to accommodate children’s medical and emotional needs.

I was talking with Dennis Vonasek, AIA, who directs our Pediatric Design Services at HGA. We have worked on several pediatric units over the years.

He pointed out some key features in today’s pediatric patient rooms:

1. Family zones
The rooms are usually divided into three zones for staff, patients, and family. The family zones can include a simple sleeper chair to a pullout bed for a guardian’s overnight stay. In addition, an adult work area with a desk and Wi-Fi access enables parents to accomplish routine tasks without leaving the room. Flexible seating arrangement in expanded rooms should accommodate siblings, relatives, and young friends who may visit for longer stays.

Leadership at UPMC Hamot Hospital in Erie, Pennsylvania was at a crossroads. Faced with the choice of upgrading-or perhaps even removing-its women’s healthcare services, the board of directors ultimately decided not only to stay the course, but to build a beautiful new facility to house them. With the addition of an outside physician’s practice to boost census overnight, UPMC Hamot Women’s Hospital was born, designed to treat its clientele with the care and attention it so richly deserves, with picturesque views of nearby Presque Isle Bay as a bonus. HEALTHCARE DESIGNEditor-in-Chief Todd Hutlock spoke with Principal Ross Rectenwald, AIA, Project Manager Gregg Daubenspeck, and Interior Designer Dan Wallace of Rectenwald Architects, Inc., and Debbie A. Burbules, RN, BSN, MPA, president of UPMC Hamot Women’s Hospital, about the project.